The Paraeducator in Community Based Settings and CareerTechnical Education Special Education Paraedu

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The Paraeducator in Community Based Settings and
Career/Technical EducationSpecial Education
Paraeducator Summer Training Series

• August, 2006
• David Berquist
• Diane Sobolewski

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Paraeducator Development Plan Menu
Directions This menu is a tool for you to use as
you progress through the Paraeducator Course.
Whenever you come across topics about which you
would like more information, place a checkmark
next to the topic and indicate in the Notes
column any specifics (for example, in 1 indicate
which disability). For each topic checked make an
entry in the Paraeducator Personal Development
Plan.
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Paraeducator Development Plan
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Local Policy
Your local school district, IU, preschool or
employing agencys policies regarding
paraeducator job descriptions, duties, and
responsibilities provide the final word!
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Email Your Questions to

• Para_at_pattan.net

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Agenda

• Introduction and Learner Outcomes
• Secondary Transition
• IDEA 04 Requirements
• Community-based Instruction
• Community-based Settings
• Career/Technical Education Settings
• Perkins legislation
• Differences similarities in programs
• Wrap up

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Learner Outcomes

• Participants will be able to
• Identify key transition planning requirements and
  concepts in the law
• Discuss community-based instructional strategies
  using the community to teach a variety of skills
  that support classroom instruction
• Identify community-based settings and the skills
  necessary to succeed
• Learn about the differences in Career Technical
  Education and Regular Education

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Secondary Transition Requirements

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004
• (IDEA 04)

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Transition Requirements
IDEA 04

• Coach every student, along with his or her
  family, to think about goals for life after high
  school and to develop a long-range plan to get
  therebegin with the end in mind.

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IDEA 04
Transition Requirements

• Design the high school experience to ensure that
  the student gains the skills and competencies
  needed to achieve his or her desired post-school
  goals

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IDEA 04
Transition Requirements

• Identify and link students and families to any
  needed post-school services, supports or programs
  before the student exits the school system

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Why Focus on Secondary Transition?

• Getting a High School Diploma is not Enough!

Storms, J., OLeary, E., Williams, J (2000).
Transition requirements A guide for states,
districts, schools, universities and families, p.
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Why Focus on Secondary Transition?
Transition Focus

• to meet a students unique needs and to prepare
  them for further education, employment, and
  independent living

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Why Focus on Secondary Transition?
Transition Focus

• Plan is based on the individual childs needs,
  taking into account the childs strengths,
  preferences and interests.

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Specific Focus of Transition
Transition Focus

• Post-secondary training or education
• Employment
• Independent living, or community participation

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Community-based Instruction(CBI)
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Transition from School to the Community
Community-based Instruction

• Good Community-based Program Planning can help
  young adults with disabilities become
  independent, productive adults
• Providing students with the skills they need to
  function in their community is vital to them
  achieving their IEP post-school goals

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What is Community-based Instruction?
Community-based Instruction

• Using the community to teach a variety of skills
• Using the community to supplement classroom
  instruction
• Teaching skills in the environment in which they
  will be used
• Teaching skills that cannot be effectively taught
  in a classroom setting

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CBI IS NOT
Community-based Instruction

• Culminating activity
• Field trip
• Reward for good behavior
• Change of scenery
• Unplanned, spur-of-the-moment
• Not one-site-fits-all

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How CBI is developed
Community-based Instruction

• Look at individual needs of students
• Identify environments suitable for addressing
  needs
• Explore the community (mapping)
• Match student need with community site

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Example David
Community-based Instruction

• Davids Need Does not know how to safely cross
  the street to catch the bus
• Environment street with traffic and pedestrian
  crosswalk
• Community location corner of Main and Third
  Street
• Match David learns to cross street at Main and
  Third

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Community Setting benefits for Davids learning?
Community-based Instruction

• Traffic (cars, trucks, bicycles, etc)
• Traffic lights/crosswalk
• Sounds on the street
• Reaction to environment (horns, speeding cars,
  policemen, when is it OK to cross, etc)
• Other people (other pedestrians)
• Who is available to help

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Activity
What skills can only be taught in a community
setting?
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Connecting the Skill and the Setting
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General Community-based Experiences
Community-based Instruction

• Setting
• Grocery store
• Shopping mall
• Restaurant
• Post office
• Bus stop
• YMCA
• McDonalds
• Intersection

• Skill
• Shopping
• Making change
• Finding specific location
• Ordering food
• Asking for help
• Registering for team
• Crossing the street
• Using public restroom

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Work-related Community-based Experiences
Community-based Instruction

• Settings
• Department stores
• Grocery stores
• Salvation Army
• Hospitals
• Office buildings
• Service stations
• Restaurants
• Salons

• Skills
• Asking for assistance
• Completing a job task
• Following a schedule
• Behaving in the staff lounge
• Knowing what to wear
• Being on time
• Calling off sick

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The Paraeducators Role
Community-based Instruction

• Accompany student in community
• Implement the IEP
• Collect information on skill acquisition
• Act as liaison with community members
• Represent school district program
• Provide role model for student

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The Paraeducators RoleIssues and Concerns
Community-based Instruction

• Implementing the IEP in the community
• Collecting data in a community setting
• Understanding liability
• Maintaining confidentiality
• Others

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Career / Technical Education Settings

• Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical
  Education Act of 1998

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Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical
Education Act 1998

• Federal law that regulates career and technical
  education
• Purpose is to develop the academic, vocational,
  and technical skills of students
• Combines classroom and on-the-job training

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Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical
Education Act 1998

• integrates academic, vocational, and technical
  instruction
• links secondary and postsecondary education

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How Do Schools Use Perkins Funds?
Carl Perkins Vocational Technical Education Act

• Equipment
• Curriculum
• Materials
• Staff development
• Career counseling / guidance
• Staff
• Remedial classes
• Tech Prep programs

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Tech Prep Programs
Career Technical Education

• Agreement between high school and postsecondary
• Link coursework in high school with postsecondary
• Joint in-service training
• Preparatory services
• Equal access of special populations

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Special Populations
Career Technical Education

• individuals with disabilities
• individuals from economically disadvantaged
  families, including foster children
• individuals preparing for nontraditional training
  and employment

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Special Populations
Career Technical Education

• single parents, including single pregnant women
• displaced homemakers and
• individuals with other barriers to educational
  achievement, including individuals with limited
  English proficiency.

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Lets Look at CTE Programs
Career Technical Education Programs

• Based on local economy and career committee
  decisions
• Examples
• Service occupations
• Building and construction trades
• Health occupations
• Computer
• Automotive trades

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Whats different about CTE?
Career Technical Education Programs

• Classroom
• Teacher
• Environment
• Focus of instruction
• Standards

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Classroom Differences
Career Technical Education Programs

• CTE
• Theory AND application
• Theory is the book work
• Application is the hands-on work
• Competency based
• Skills learned in sequence
• Cannot progress until mastery is demonstrated

• Regular education
• Theory
• Book work, lecture
• Application examples may or may not be provided
• Content based
• Progress not limited to mastery
• Skills not necessarily in a sequence

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Teacher Differences
Career Technical Education Programs

• Regular education
• Experience
• Student teaching
• Education
• Content / strategies
• Pedagogy
• Classroom role
• Lecture, instruct, provide feedback, evaluate
  performance

• CTE
• Experience
• Industry/occupation specific
• Education
• May not have teaching certificate
• May not know pedagogy
• Classroom role
• Model, demonstrate, evaluate products

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Environmental Differences
Career Technical Education Programs

• Regular education
• Very structured
• Teacher directed
• Quiet, distraction-free
• Clean, orderly
• Individual desks/chairs
• Desks in row, lockers in hall

• CTE
• Unstructured
• Self-paced
• (Can be) dirty
• (Often) noisy
• Team and individual stations
• Room set-up specific to program

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Focus of Instruction
Career Technical Education Programs

• CTE
• Work-based learning
• Industry standards
• Board exams to be certified
• IEP may alter pathway to occupation, but industry
  determines whether student gets certification

• Regular education
• School-based learning
• State-wide academic standards
• Proficiency on PSSA
• IEP may alter pathway to graduation AND
  requirements for graduation

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Standards
Career Technical Education Programs

• Regular education
• PSSA / PASA
• Certifications
• Proficient and advanced levels
• Achievement
• Math problems computed with 70 accuracy?

• CTE
• NOCTI exam
• Certifications
• National / PA Skill Standards
• Achievement
• Brake job done with 70 accuracy?

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Whats The Same About CTE?
Career Technical Education Programs

• Academics
• PSSA / PASA
• Graduation requirements
• IEP development
• IEP implementation

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Paraeducator role in CTE
Career Technical Education

• Theory / academic support
• Instructional adaptations
• Assessment adaptations
• Vocational program support
• Assistance with vocational competencies
• Hands-on assistance with tools/equipment
• Accommodations on the job

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QA
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Questions

• para_at_pattan.net